In May Prof. David Stuart conducted fieldwork at two archaeological sites in northern Guatemala, helping to document important Maya monuments and sculptures discovered by colleagues from Tulane University.

The Mesoamerica Center is excited to be involved in the production of two important monograph series in the fields of ancient American archaeology and art history, Ancient America and Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing. Both publications have a long and venerable history in Mesoamerican studies, and have been the source of a number of path-breaking works over the past three decades. Appearing this summer is Ancient America 13, The Fall of the Great Celestial Bird: A Master Myth in Early Classic Central Mexico by Jesper Nielsen and ChristopheHelmke, both of the University of Copenhagen.

The Pre-Columbian Society of Washington, D.C will host Dr. David Stuart for their June feature event. His talk will present a new look at the famous triadic temples of Palenque, Mexico, known as the Cross Group. Using an integrated approach to the architectural complex, Dr. Stuart aims to show how its hieroglyphic inscriptions and iconography worked together to present a tightly interwoven narrative that bridges mythology and history, highlighting the status and ceremonial power of king K’inchKanBahlam, who dedicated the shrine complex early in his reign in 682 A.D.

During the 2015 Spring semester, Professor Jason Urban and Leslie Mutchler accompanied a small group of students from the Department of Art and Art History to take part in Semana Santa by designing and creating an eight by twenty-foot Alfombra, or sawdust carpet for the Holy Week processions.

Throughout this ten-day trip, anchored at Casa Herrera, students heard lectures about Semana Santa, the culture and customs of Guatemala, took field-trips to a textile factory, the Capuchinas Convent, and San Juan Comalapa to see hand-painted murals. This time spent together, away from home and typical American creature comforts allowed our students to form long-lasting friendships and gain valuable cultural perspective.

New Fire is a blog produced by The Mesoamerica Center on current Mesoamerican art and archaeology. This blog will present current archaeology news, projects by graduate students at UT-Austin, and information about resources and projects at the Mesoamerican Center.

The editors of this blog include Elliot Lopez-Finn and Stephanie Strauss, as well as other contributing members of MaGSA, the organization of students at UT-Austin that study Pre-Columbian culture.

This summer, second year Ph.D. student and Donald D. Harrington Doctoral Fellow Stephanie Strauss, received research grants from the University of Texas at Austin and the Department of Art & Art History to conduct pre-dissertation travel and research throughout Mexico and Guatemala. Stephanie is interested in Mesoamerican writing practices and language ideologies cross-culturally, and her dissertation will focus on the enigmatic Isthmian art and hieroglyphic systems.